


Bulletproof

by Cerylia



Category: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:37:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2311514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerylia/pseuds/Cerylia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where Saul Karath manages to convince Carth to join Revan against the Republic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bulletproof

**Author's Note:**

> I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose  
> Fire away, fire away  
> Ricochet, you take your aim  
> Fire away, fire away  
> You shoot me down but I won’t fall  
> I am titanium

“You can’t be so blind to the future, Onasi! Revan is the future of the Republic!” Saul was nearly yelling at this point, exasperated at Carth’s consistent refusal to even consider the idea. It had been over an hour since they had sat down for drinks at a shady cantina on Taris. The planet was hardly ideal, but Saul knew Carth would have to come through to get to Telos. And since it wasn’t out of the way, Carth would come.  
“I’m telling you, I can’t just re-enlist again. Morgana’s already upset I went to fight the Mandalorians. She won’t be happy unless I’m home.”  
Saul scowled. After all, if Carth was home, Saul wouldn’t be happy. If only Onasi could realize that Saul cared for the man more than that woman ever would. He started to respond, but instead he sipped on his drink.   
After a few minutes of silence, Carth stood. “I’ve got to go. I’m going to miss my shuttle. It was nice seeing you.”  
“Wait!” Carth was halfway to the door. For a second, Saul wasn’t sure if he would stop, but Carth slowly turned around. “Revan is fighting for the safety of the Republic. Isn’t that what is best for your pretty wife?”  
Carth sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. But instead of leaving, he pulled out his holocom. 

Carth had been right. Returning to Revan’s forces under Saul had certainly caused a strain in his relationship with Morgana. But with enough talking, and fighting, she had finally come to terms with her husband’s decision, even if it was an uneasy truth.  
Saul, for his part, seemed to understand.  
“You’ll want to drop a com to Morgana,” Saul told him one day.  
“I just talked to her and Dustil yesterday.”  
“Revan’s next target is Telos. She wants a peaceful surrender but—”  
“Protecting the Republic isn’t always simple, I suppose,” Carth said, before he left to his quarters. 

They stayed in orbit for a few more hours. Plenty of time for his family to get off world, Carth told himself.   
“Have they sent the terms over yet?” Carth asked.  
Saul shook his head. “I don’t understand what this delay is—”  
Malak stormed onto the bridge. Every conversation ended abruptly.  
“There has been a change of plans. Destroy the planet.”  
“What? We can’t just—” Carth felt his throat crushed instantly. His hands grabbed his neck, struggling to fight the invisible Force that choked him.  
“The planet cannot be saved. There is nothing to do but destroy it,” Malak said, before tossing Carth aside like a ragdoll.  
The other soldiers ran to their stations, barking orders and organizing the first strike teams. Saul found Carth first.  
“Malak is right. This planet is too much of a threat, with all the young Force-sensitives. But you warned them. Your family won’t be there.”  
Carth nodded, slowly standing. Within a few minutes, he was preparing for the assault.

It was easier than Carth expected. Most of the civilians at least attempted to fight back. Saul’s com channel was open the entire time.   
“See? Malak is right. This entire planet is a risk,” Saul said, whenever someone came out with a civilian blaster in a futile attempt to defend their families.  
They worked through the main city, Carth using his home-town knowledge to find the biggest targets—the weapon stores, the food markets. Finally there was nothing left but the residential areas, but other soldiers were already there. Carth had managed to avoid his neighborhood, at the very least.   
“I don’t think we can do much more here,” Carth said.  
Saul nodded in agreement. The other troopers in their squadron relaxed, laughing and teasing one of them, a man who had managed to get himself injured. That particular soldier had tripped over his own two feet during the mission.   
“Malak wants to destroy the infrastructure from space once we leave. You should check that Morgana managed to take everything important with her,” Saul said.  
Carth nodded. It wasn’t a far trip to his own home, and seeing as the group was on speeders, it would only take him a few minutes to get there.   
“I’ll meet up with you later,” Carth said.

Despite Saul’s reassurances that Morgana and Dustil had ample time to leave, to escape the planet of traitors, Carth’s heart was in the pit of his stomach. He ignored the devastation in the neighborhood where, not too long ago, Dustil was playing in the streets while Morgana teased him for not properly coordinating his outfit.   
Still, he was not prepared for the scene. His home was one of the few that were entirely destroyed, rubble surrounding where the garden should be. Two Sith troopers were smirking as Dustil screamed over a bloody body. Carth didn’t look too closely at the dead woman. It was already obvious who she was.  
“Dustil!” Carth called out. He jumped off his speeder, running towards him.  
“Get away! This is your fault!” Dustil yelled. The two other troopers were laughing at him now, and one grabbed Dustil by the shoulder. The boy either didn’t notice or didn’t care.  
Carth stopped. “I…I tried to protect you, I dropped a com!”  
“Oh, yeah, you tried so hard! Communications have been shut down for days, father! Shouldn’t you know that? You’re one of them!”  
“You wouldn’t understand! I’m protecting the Republic!”  
Dustil turned slightly, pulling the Sith trooper’s sidearm from the holster and firing at his father.  
Carth cried out and grabbed his arm. The blast had seared through his jacket and burned the material onto his skin. Another blast had him on the ground, his stomach on fire.   
“What? Like you protected mom? I hate you!” Dustil yelled. Carth couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. He could only watch as the other troopers wrestled Dustil to the ground. In retrospect, he was thankful that he was unconscious before that struggle could end.

Carth was surprised he even woke up.   
With Saul’s comment that Malak intended to bombard Telos following the ground assault, one of his last thoughts was that at least he would be with Morgana again. Like he had promised her so many years ago.  
Instead, he was lying on a bed. His skin itched, and he recognized the small rash he got whenever he was immersed in a kolto tank.  
“I truly am sorry, about your family,” Saul said. Who knew how long Saul had sat next to him.  
Carth was stayed quiet.  
“Dustil…Dustil said that the com channels had been blocked for days. Did you know that?”  
“I thought they would reach a peaceful agreement.”  
“You killed my family. I’ll kill you.”

Carth understood they would execute him for murdering his commanding officer. But Carth didn’t understand the Sith. Malak only laughed when he heard. Or at least it was assumed Malak laughed—the noise through his new prosthetic jaw was difficult to understand. Instead of executing Carth on a variety of charges, he was promoted. After all, if a hospitalized, injured inferior could shoot an admiral, then why was Saul Karath an admiral?

A few years later  
Gwen Ketra woke up from her crash landing in a Sith prison. Everything was hazy, but at least she was alive. Unlike poor Trask, who had fought a dark Jedi in order to buy her time to escape. Her head pounded, and she didn’t move. She could hear Sith troopers talking.  
“…Bastila is here?”  
Gwen scowled. Bastila was probably her only hope of survival. If she had been captured, Gwen would have a lot more trouble getting off world.  
“Don’t let anyone escape. Malak is coming.”  
That, at least, Gwen knew how to interpret. The next time they delivered her food—a few hours later, she took a hard swing at her captor’s left cheek, knocking him to the ground. Gwen turned, debating on whether to end him as a threat, permanently. She frowned, decided that she didn’t kill men who couldn’t fight back, and pulled his blaster off him. The grenadiers blocking her escape wouldn’t receive the same mercy.  
She wouldn’t last long. Far above Taris, Admiral Carth Onasi received a report from a guard who had served on Taris. His left cheek was swollen, and he explained that one of the female prisoners had just escaped.  
“My lord. One of the prisoners escaped.”  
Despite his jawless face, Malak’s anger was obvious. A few angry shouts later, and Onasi finally commanded the fleet to bombard the planet.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is literally just here to upset you. I know the characterization of everyone isn’t quite right, but let’s be honest, the entire premise of the AU wouldn’t work much otherwise.


End file.
